July 25 became a day Rasmus HooXi Nielsen will remember forever. In his time with Astralis, he’s been through it all — victories, criticism, and even doubts about his place among the elite. But on stage in Cologne, he finally showed what fans had been waiting for for years: a brilliant individual performance at the highest level, one that earned him hero status on the map and may well have changed how the entire scene sees him.
Nuke vs. paiN – the map that became HooXi’s legend
The lower bracket series against paiN in Stage 1 of IEM Cologne 2025 was do-or-die: the winner moved forward, the loser packed their bags. Astralis came in firing from the first round, and Nuke ended 13–4, but the real story wasn’t just the team’s dominance — it was HooXi’s stat line: 15 kills, 14 of them headshots, a 1.60 rating, and an 88.2% KAST.
This wasn’t just a good map — it was the absolute peak of his CS2 career so far. Viewers saw a different HooXi: confident in every move, aggressive in duels, and sharper than ever. His headshot streak on Ramp and a cold-blooded 1v2 clutch created moments that had the arena on its feet.
From “burdened leader” to map-carrying star
Since joining Astralis at the start of 2025, HooXi has mostly been seen as the tactical brain of the team — the one setting the pace, drawing up plans, and taking responsibility for the team’s structure. Often, that meant sacrificing his own stats: support roles, entry deaths, and the endless jokes about being a “0.9 rating enjoyer.”
But this Nuke shattered every narrative. On this map, he wasn’t just a leader — he was a fragger who looked like the driving force of both attack and defense. He opened rounds, removed key threats, and showed nerves of steel in the biggest moments.
Key moment – the clutch that sealed it
The brightest highlight of the map was a 1v4 clutch that HooXi won while left with just a sliver of health. As he pushed onto the site, he landed the first kill, planted the bomb, and then took down biguzera. He then eliminated two players trying to flank him from behind — first the already damaged dav1deuS, and then dgt, dropping both with clean headshots. This moment crushed paiN’s last hope for a comeback and, without exaggeration, etched itself into the memory of Astralis fans.
His road to the peak – previous top performances
HooXi has shown flashes of brilliance before. His previous best maps looked like this:
- July 18, 2025 – 13–6 vs. Lynn Vision on Nuke, rating 1.52
- February 14, 2024 – 13–5 vs. Into the Breach on Anubis (with G2), rating 1.52
- May 18, 2025 – 17–10 vs. Spirit on Mirage, rating 1.51
- July 20, 2025 – 18–10 vs. TYLOO on Inferno, rating 1.50
These matches showed that HooXi could “pop off” occasionally. But what happened on July 25 against paiN raised the bar higher than ever. A 1.60 rating on Nuke is now his career-high in CS2.
Community reaction – “Gigachad is back”
The chats and socials exploded once HLTV posted the map stats:
- “Gigachad is f*cking wrecking them,” one fan summed it up, racking up dozens of likes.
- “HooXi solo,” wrote another.
- “Rating is insane,” a Telegram user noted simply.
- “Gigachad has always been in his prime,” joked another fan.
- “Uncle HooXi — king of CS2,” one more standout comment.
- “Our elephant, no one will move him,” teased another user.
The community was united on one point: this was the match that changed HooXi’s status in the eyes of CS2 fans.
What’s next for Astralis and HooXi
Astralis are through to Stage 2, but this match will go down in history not just as a step in the bracket. HooXi has finally proven his name belongs next to more than the word “leader” — it now stands beside the word “star.”
From now on, every Astralis match in Cologne carries a new question: can HooXi recreate the magic he showed on Nuke — and could this be the start of the “Gigachad Era” in CS2?
